The 10th Annual AML/BSA Mile High Summit, hosted July 15, 2025, at the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, delivered a day of regulatory insight, legal perspective and future-focused discussion on the evolving landscape of financial crime compliance. Legal professionals, compliance officers and community bankers gathered to explore the critical shifts impacting anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions enforcement and crypto regulation.

Otteson Shapiro’s John Podvin opened the Summit by moderating a Bank Regulator Roundtable with representatives from the OCC, Fed, FDIC and Colorado Division of Banking. The conversation addressed pressing regional BSA/AML challenges, including staff turnover, risk assessment gaps and the accelerating use of AI in compliance monitoring – highlighting key regulatory expectations that every legal advisor should note.

Gavin Fearey of Rimon offered a timely breakdown of the fast-moving policy environment for digital assets, previewing implications of the upcoming GENIUS Act and unpacking distinctions between stablecoins, tokenized deposits and emerging crypto use cases.

Cybercrime was the focus of U.S. Secret Service analyst Jared Lobato’s presentation, outlining 2025’s most pressing digital threats – ransomware, phishing/smishing, business email compromise and evolving scams targeting the elderly including those offering romance. Meanwhile, DML Associates’ Dennis Lormel returned for his 10th Summit appearance to examine the latest in lone actor and global terrorism threats.

The day concluded with Zane Gilmer of Stinson delivering a deep dive into AML and sanctions enforcement trends, dissecting recent cases involving crypto exchanges and outlining the legal exposure for institutions navigating uncharted regulatory terrain.

As financial crime and regulatory expectations continue to evolve at a rapid pace, forums like the AML/BSA Mile High Summit offer essential, real-time insight for legal and compliance professionals. This year’s 10th anniversary event underscored the value of collaboration across agencies and industries in staying ahead of risk.